The Northern Blues ended their 2017 pre-season with a 23-point win over Werribee on Sunday morning.

With 16 Carlton-listed players involved in the win, senior coach Josh Fraser analyses their performances ahead of Saturday’s VFL season opener against Port Melbourne.

63. Blaine Boekhorst
Stats vs. Werribee: 21 disposals, 5 marks, 3 inside 50s, 1 goal
From the coach: Blaine had good game involvement offensively with his run, and he also showed a good intent defensively. He continues to build in-game on putting his good stuff together for longer.

7. Dylan Buckley
Stats vs. Werribee: 12 disposals, 4 hard-ball gets
From the coach: He had some really clear focuses in our back six and showed some good signs of delivering. He’s finding balance between when to attack and defend, but his good stuff was encouraging: he’s trying to build form in areas we’re after.


Dylan Buckley in action against Werribee. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)

61. David Cuningham
Stats vs. Werribee: 13 disposals, 4 clearances, 4 tackles
From the coach: It wasn’t the same impact around stoppages from previous week but he showed glimpses of his cleanness around stoppages and burst out of congestion. We like him when he’s driving forward.

56. Zac Fisher
Stats vs. Werribee: 15 disposals (7 contested), 6 hard-ball gets, 3 clearances
From the coach: His pressure was good without being outstanding. Zac is working tirelessly on detail in his game: he keeps his feet and is clean and evasive in traffic. He sets us up offensively and is certainly an exciting talent.

49. Andrew Gallucci
Stats vs. Werribee: 12 disposals, 3 inside 50s, 4 tackles, 3 goals
From the coach: Terrific performance given he’s missed so much football. He gives us a different dimension up forward, and his ability to not only apply pressure but also cap off his game via the scoreboard with three goals was great reward.

11. Jesse Glass-McCasker
Stats vs. Werribee: 4 disposals
From the coach: He’s shown some great improvement in his game, Jesse. He has worked hard on his defensive positioning and his impact on the game. He’s still working on capitalising with ball in hand but his set-up and positioning showed good growth. 

48. Kristian Jaksch
Stats vs. Werribee: 12 disposals, 7 marks (5 inside 50), 4 tackles, 2 goals
From the coach: KJ is competing as well as I’ve seen him. He has been brutal in air, his decision making when it comes to leading up at the ball is getting better and he’s adding forward-50 pressure to his game. If he keeps doing that on a regular basis, he’s in really good shape.

14. Liam Jones
Stats vs. Werribee: 11 disposals, 5 marks (2 contested), 1 goal
From the coach: His contest in the air was outstanding and he applied great pressure with ball in his area, while also providing a strong contest in ruck. He’s a massive presence around the ball. 

26. Sam Kerridge
Stats vs. Werribee: 23 disposals, 6 marks, 11 hard-ball gets, 1 goal
From the coach: He found enough of the ball to impact the contest as a midfielder and forward. On the whole, he worked really hard on both sides of the game. It was a strong performance.


Sam Kerridge was a strong performer against Werribee. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)

36. Matthew Korcheck
Stats vs. Werribee: 6 disposals, 30 hitouts, 1 goal
From the coach: He gave our mids first use with his ruck work, as well as competing hard and around the ground. He’s beginning to understand patterns away from the ball - he finished with a goal and his follow-up work was impressive.

15. Harry McKay
Stats vs. Werribee: 10 disposals, 4 marks, 1 goal
From the coach: He’s still building consistency with marking and has certainly showed improvement in that area: he’s launching at more balls and working hard on leading patterns and defensively. He could and probably should have finished with three or four.

23. Rhys Palmer
Stats vs. Werribee: 23 disposals, 4 clearances, 4 tackles, 3 goals
From the coach: Rhys had a strong offensive involvement. He’s a really smart player. He constantly ran to the right positions, he was strong in the contest and had great goal sense to finish with three. 


Rhys Palmer celebrates one of his three goals against Werribee. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)

65. Cameron Polson
Stats vs. Werribee: 8 disposals, 3 inside 50s
From the coach: He’s continuing to work hard on method. His intent is quite strong, almost to the point of having to slow down and getting his method right in the moment. He had more impact as the game went on. I think he’ll be a really exciting player given time. 

66. Ciaran Sheehan
Stats vs. Werribee: 10 disposals, 3 inside 50s
From the coach: His defensive positioning continues to grow, he’s making clearer decisions when he is in possession and executing most of the time. ‘Gussy’ is continuing to build an encouraging line of form.


Ciaran Sheehan continues to build on his encouraging form. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)

46. Liam Sumner
Stats vs. Werribee: 12 disposals, 4 marks, 4 inside 50s
From the coach: His work-rate and pressure around the footy was really strong. He was far more busy this week with his involvements, he had opportunities in front of goal and set others up.


Liam Sumner made his presence felt against Werribee. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)

12. Tom Williamson
Stats vs. Werribee: 11 disposals, 7 handball receives
From the coach: Tom was solid defensively, he made good decisions away from the footy and he’s really exciting with the way he goes forward and uses it.


Northern Blues coach Josh Fraser likes what he sees of first-year Carlton player Tom Williamson. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)